November 2016 Meal Plan

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So I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’m switching to a monthly meal planning system (and there’s another post coming again about that…I found an even better way to use Plan to Eat for monthly meal planning – be excited with me!). I know I’ve been slacking in posting meal plans during the last few months, but I’m hoping that since I’ll only be doing it once a month from now on, that will change. A girl can dream. 🙂

With this meal plan, I’m including five to six gluten-free, grain-free, mostly dairy-free (or very easily adapted to dairy-free) recipes for five weeks (and this month includes Thanksgiving!). You will see repetition in this list because I find that reusing a few different things (specifically) sides each week, also makes meal planning and cooking in general easier. I discover recipes that my family really likes and that are relatively simple to get on the table, and I add those into the rotation. The more I make them, the faster and more efficient they get, and then I can try new recipes.

A few notes… I’m going to include links to the recipes that are available online, otherwise I’ll include links to the resource where I got the recipe. In all the recipes where butter is called for, I substitute ghee to make it lactose/casein-free. Also, these recipes are meant to be easy for weeknights, but they do still take time. I usually start about an hour before I want us to eat. Obviously, if it’s a recipe I haven’t made before, it will take more time, but I consider an hour an acceptable amount of time for making a weeknight meal from scratch.

Without further ado, here’s what we’ll be chowing down on during the month of November….

Lunch Ideas

We’re pretty relaxed about lunch and usually rely on leftovers (if there are any). Otherwise, we keep staples in the house to throw something together fast:

Sardines – I know! Sardines! Gross! Right? But they’re a powerhouse of nutrients, the kids LOVE them, and they’re extremely convenient for packed lunchesTuna – I get skipjack as it’s lower in mercury than other kinds of tunaEgg salad – Another of B’s favoritesHard-boiled eggsButternut squash soup – The kids especially like this cold so they can drink it with strawsRoasted chicken drumsticks – Preheat oven to 400 degrees, top each drumstick with a pat of butter/ghee, sprinkle with salt or your favorite seasoning, and roast for 40 minutes

Breakfast Ideas

We have the same thing almost every day of the week for breakfast because trying to come up with variety in this area would probably make my head implode. Sunday through Friday, we have scrambled eggs and the kids each get half of an avocado. They finish that off with a small bowl of frozen mixed berries (E and I have bowls of oatmeal).

On Saturdays, E breaks out the apron and produces a feast: scrambled eggs, bacon, and either home fries (MIP2) or banana pancakes (EGFB).

Resources

You can see my master list of recipes that are currently in rotation here, a list of places where I buy my food here, and a guide for buying kitchen equipment here. I’ll be re-working a few of these posts in coming weeks as obviously things have changed since I first wrote them, but they give you a good idea of my process right now. 🙂

I also use Plan to Eat to collect recipes, make my meal plan, and generate grocery lists. It’s a fantastic little tool and I think meal planning would be a LOT more work without it. If you’re not sure about paying for something like that, they offer a free 30-day trial which is the perfect amount of time to give it a try. They also usually offer a 50% discount each year on Black Friday which is coming soon!

Feel free to adapt, alter, substitute, or change this meal plan to fit your family’s needs! We may have a slight obsession with potatoes in our household….you may not be as fond of them as we are. 🙂 I hope someone finds this useful!